"Vengeance! Thy blade is forsaken!" 

 - The Writings of Achen Vaentiil, High Elf of Quaantil, 320 Before The Eras

The Sword of Forsaken is a sword wrought in mystery and judged by the Church of Sol Anon as an abomination of Xodod. Unlike the Sword of Legend, very few doubt its existence and there is plenty of historical data on the sword. It is regarded by many as the opposite of the Sword of Legend.

The History of the Sword of Forsaken

Many people today have forgotten that Forsaken was not always the sword's name. In fact it did not carry that name until it was called such by its last known wielder, Lector Clairstory. All other documentation has the sword called Haen Ruithael, which roughly translated means the Angel of Vengeance or the Vengeful Angel. Of course there have always been those who have regarded vengeance as taboo and considered the blade a forsaken thing, but until the Second Era, such was not the blade's name.

The blade got its new name when Lector Clairstory, who was stepping further into his own insanity driven mad by the loss of his son, waved the sword around proclaiming "This is my Forsaken Blade, and with it I shall render all souls who oppose me Forsaken, bound to the eternal punishment that awaits them in Xodod."

As you can imagine, that is when the sword got its bad reputation. It was then that the Church of Sol Anon declared that the sword must be evil and a "physical extension of Zodo just as Legend is of Kymara." But before that, the sword was often seen as an instrument of El Anon's Wrath and Judgment. In fact, many paladins of the Church of Sol Anon wielded the sword in their quest for righteousness.

Perhaps the most famous wielder of what was then called Haen Ruithael, was the paladin Amos Va'elin, who accompanied Ormus Grimore when on an excavation for the Church of Sol Anon he discovered the Divine Incantations, which later caused Ormus to leave the Church of Sol Anon and found the Church of the Holy Body. Ormus wrote in his notes of that day:
 

 

As we were digging in the lower levels of this most ancient temple, my good friend and protector Amos felt a strong pull coming from a still buried corridor and his sword began to resonate a strange hum. Feeling compelled to do so, we quickly removed the debris to find this splendorous book that bore not a single indication of wear, tear, or age.

Even after it was seen by the Church of Sol Anon that that book was the written word of Zodo, the sword was not blamed. Instead it was reasoned at the time that the sword knew that it was there and that the spirit that was believed to have been imbued in the sword wished to destroy the book.

But where did the sword come from? The first documented wielder of the sword was the High Elf Qael Vaentiil of the yerk elf nation of Quaantil. He had lost his wife, daughter, and several cousins in an attack by the dark elves of the Underdark and only had his son Achen left. The attack happened when Qael was trying to set up an alliance with the Underdark to help them get trade networks past the Ascians, who they were under constant attack from at the time. The Underdark delegates met Qael and his family, bringing a gift of fine wine with them as a symbol of good will. They served some to Qael and his family, and those that took the first sip were said to have dropped to the floor, foaming at the mouth and seizing violently. Luckily for Qael, he and his son had yet gotten their glass. The Underdark's delegates escaped in the shock and confusion that took place and when Qael realized what had happened, he wished for vengeance.

The following excerpt is said to be the only surviving piece of Qael's journal, and it speaks of his obtaining of the sword. It has been translated into Chalcedonian.
 

 

"It was long after everyone left that it came to me. Standing alone before the recently sealed tombs I was, the brilliance of the light refracted from the mountain's crystal-like lakes lost on me that day, but the voice was not. It came upon me like a friend and spake of what I would wish for, the want to forgive or the want for justice. I declared the later, and before me a sword formed from the outspoken desire. Its blade was long and sharp, double edged and the color of fresh spilt blood. Even its crossguard had a sharpness to it and was of a deep onyx. The handle though was blacker than the blackest night, with only a trace of brilliant silver ruining like a mighty vein for it was shaped as a hand, and the hand grasped a most beautiful pearl that had a single speck of red. The voice spoke to me, but this time it came from the sword, "Herein I give to you, faithful friend and king, the vengeful blade so that thou might bring justice for the most terrible crime." I grabbed the handle and knew then that vengeance shall indeed be mine, and therefore I named the blade Haen Ruithael."

It was recorded that Qael did indeed lead an army into the Underdark, and slew a great host of the dark elves, the rest who had fled. But the cost was said to be his own life. It was said that Qael gave the sword to his son as he lied there dieing of no apparent injury, but Achen refused to claim it, claiming the blade of vengeance a thing forsaken to him for vengeance claimed his father, and he had the sword sealed away. The sword wouldn't resurface again until the First Era when a paladin of the Church of Sol Anon, Maelrik Vectra, discovered it in the ruins of what was Qael's palace.

It wasn't until Ormus translated the Divine Incantations though did the theory of the blade being an extension of Zodo come about, and that was only among the Holy Body for the rest of the world still saw it as a weapon of El Anon at the time. The verse itself reads:
 

"As I hath given unto Qael do thou think I not give unto you? Should thine enemies rise up against you, and you call upon me for aide, thine sword shall I grant you. For vengeance is ever the providence of Zodo." 

- Incantations of Faith, Divine Incantations

Whether the sword that we know of today as Forsaken is truly a weapon of Zodo or not is not truly known. Today the Church of Sol Anon seems to agree that it is, as does the Church of the Holy Body, but that does not remove the fact that the sword has been used before by paladins and heroes alike to defend others.

The Breaking of Forsaken

No one knows for certain what happened to the sword after Lector Clairstory was slain. It was said to have left him in his final moments, and it has been lost ever since.

There are few treasure hunters out there looking to answer that question. Some are of course employed by the Holy Body. Their task is most dangerous though as the Church of Sol Anon has publicly declared that anyone who shall find even one piece of Forsaken shall forever be labelled a follower of Zodo and be damned to Xodod. The radical followers of the Church take this as permission to kill any suspected sword bearer.

The Sword Forsaken in the RPG

Of course the Sword Forsaken can be used as a legendary artifact in any Legends of Nor'Ova campaign. The GM could have the sword whole or broken into parts, dependent upon the story the GM wishes to tell.

Here you will find information concerning both the whole sword and the parts. If you break the sword into parts, there are six physical parts, which are now named to reflect their believed connection with Zodo. They are: Eye of Zodo, Hand of Power, Xodod's Guard, and 3 blade pieces. It is said that the seventh piece is the wielder, that the sword uses the strength of the wielder and his or her desire for vengeance.

Eye of Zodo

The so-called Eye of Zodo is a white pearl that is roughly the size of a golf ball that has a red dime-size dot on the top, making it look like an eye. It is actually a very rare form of anima stone which either holds or is connected to a powerful entity, but who or what this entity really is is not known. Most believe it is connected to Zodo of course, but which part of Zodo they cannot agree on. Those who don't believe that the sword is connected to Zodo refer to this as its older name - the Pearl of Great Power.

The Eye is sentient. It can and will communicate with the beholder and once combined with the sword makes the sword fully sentient. The eye is also able to read the wielder's thoughts and desires and often acts on them before the wielder has asked it to do so.

The Eye increases the wielder's Runic Energy by x 2.

Hand of Power

The Hand of Power is the handle of the sword. As described above, it is made of black onyx with a silver vein running down the middle of it and is in the shape of a hand with attached forearm. The hand grasps and holds the Eye of Zodo (Pearl of Great Power). The Hand will produce a blade when one isn't present if you cast a spell while holding it. What it does is it turns the spell into a magical blade, allowing you to do the spells damage plus magic power as a melee hit for 2d6 rounds. The blade will have a range of 4 used in this fashion.

If attached to actual blade pieces and the Eye, it will add your magic power to the sword's damage power and add your elemental effects to your physical damages.

Xodod's Guard

This is the cross guard of the sword. It has a sharp edge along the side that would face the blade and can be thrown as a weapon if not attached to the sword. If thrown, it always returns to its wielder and does 2d10 damage plus throw power.

It also possesses a chance to instantly kill its target if thrown. You would roll a 1d6, with a roll of 6 being instant death for the target. The wielder should be careful though as a critical mishap can cause the death of an innocent or ally.

Those who don't believe that the sword is connected to Zodo know this piece as The Blood Guard.

3 Blade Pieces

The blade pieces are 6 inches long, double-edged, and crimson red in color. By themselves, they can be thrown like throwing knives with an attack power of 30.

The Complete Sword of Forsaken

Whenever any two pieces of the sword that connect to each other are present together, they will automatically connect to one another. Below are the stats for the completed sword.